Electric cigar lighter



May 6, 1930. C. B. MAHAN l 1,757,255

ELECTRI C C IGAR LIGHTER Filed June 6, 1929 Hmwemfbcim@ 'Patented May 6, 1930 UNITED sTA'rEsr PATENT OFFICE CEABLESB. MAHAN, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO A. SMITH MuNU- FACTUIRING COMPANY, IN C., OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK ELECTRIC C'IGAR LIGHTER Application med June e, 1929. serial No. 368,894.

This invention relates to an electric lighter,

or igniting device, such as is used by smokers,-

. produce a lighter, of the type in question,

which isso constructed that it may be used conveniently for lighting a pipe, as well as a cigar or a cigarette. To this end, the invention comprises a heating element which is normally surrounded and guarded by a part of the removable member, but which may be caused to protrude therefrom for use in lighting a. pipe.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and convenient means for closing the circuit throufh which the heating velement is energized; such means being so arranged that they are not liable to accidental operation, and that accidental contact of the person Withthe heating element is impossible during the heating operation. To this end, the invention comprises an arrangement in which the heating element is located at the rear end of the removable member, and is supported by a plunger which is slidable within the body of the removable member, to permit .the necessary engagement of the contacts without movement of the entire removable member.

Other objects of the invention, and the fea.- tures of -construction by which they are attained, will be set forth hereinafter, in connection with the description of th'.` illustlrated .embodiment ofthe invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 isa longitudinal sectional view of a lighter embodying the present invention, shown inposition upon a' member such asthe instrument board o a motor vehicle, and on an enlarged scale; Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1,v looking from left to right; and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the removable met ber trical engagement with the plunger.

of the lighter, shown in actual size, with the heating element in the protruded position occupied when the lighter is used to light a pipe.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the removable member comprises a body 5, which is preferably moulded from some material, such as synthetic resin, which is a good insulator both of velectricity and of heat. The forward portion of this body is covered by a metal sleeve 6, which is formed to provide a projecting rim., to facilitate manipulation of the device, and a iange partially covering the forward end of the body. The'body is formed with a passage extending from end to end, but at the forward end this passage is contracted to form a ledge or shoulder 7 Within the passage in the body, a plunger 8 is mounted, this plunger having the form of a tube open at both ends. The heatingelement 9, which has the usual form of a spiral of resistance metal, is supported at the rear end of the plunger. For this purpose it is embraced by metal cap 10, which is fixed on the plunger. A disc 11, of mica or other ltranslucent insulating material, serves as a support lfor the heating element and for a central lit and is slotted, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that it may be formed to spring inwardly and thus maintain firm frictional and elec- The sleeve 13 has an outwardly-extending inclined iianfe 14, fitting closely within the body and serving to center thesleeve. Two pins 30, with beveled inner ends, are mounted in radial perforations in the body 5, and they arey engaged, at their inner ends, by the flan e 14. The plunger also is provided with a ange 31, at its forward end, and a spring' 15, coiled about the plunger, is interposed between the two flanges. This spring has a tendency to press the flange 14 against the pins 30, which serve as abutments to retain the sleeve 13 in place, and it also acts to move the plunger forwardly in the body, so as to hold the heating element normally retracted, within the rear end of the body, as shown in Fig. l. Between the forward end of the plunger and the shoulder 7, a lens or disc 16, of glass or other translucent material, is interposed, this lens being of such diameter that it may be moved freely within the passage through the body, but being normally held against the shoulder 7 by the pressure of the plunger.

The pins 30 are mounted loosely in their perforations, so that the pressure of the beveled flange 14 against their ends tends to slide them outwardly, and this maintains them always in firm engagement with the sleeve 6. This mode of operation is desirable for the reason that the pins and the sleeve constitute parts of the electric circuit of the device, as hereinafter explained.

The stationary member of the lighter comprises a socket 17 drawn from sheet metal and adapted to and introduced into a suitable perforation in a panel or board 18, such as the instrument board of a motor vehicle. A flange 19 is provided at the forward end of the socket, to rest against the board 18 as shown. The socket is held in place by means of a bolt 20 and a yoke 21, the bolt being lixed to the bottom or rear end of the socket and passing through the yoke so that, upon the tightening of a nut 25, the yoke is pressed against the rear of the board 18, thus drawing the socket firmly into position. Since it is convenient, also, to use the bolt 2O as an insulated terminal of the lighter, the head of the bolt, and the nut 23 by which it is fixed to the socket, are insulated therefrom by washers 22 and 24 of insulating material, and the nut 25 is also insulated from the yoke 21, by means of an insulating washer 26. l

The inner end of the bolt cooperates, as a contact member or terminal, with the hollow rivet 12 which constitutes one terminal of'the heating element 9. These parts are normally out of engagement with each other, as shown in Fig. 1. When the lighter is to be used, however, the user presses his finger against the lens 16, in the same manner that an ordinary electric button switch is used. The lens and the plunger are thus forced rearwardly within the body 5, causing the rivet 12 to press against the bolt 20. vIt will be understood that this bolt will be connected within a suitable source of current, in the usual manner, and upon the engagement of the termi-- nals, as just described, the current will flow from the bolt through the rivet to the inner end of the heating element, from which it passes, through the cap 10, the plunger, the sleeve 13 and the pins 30, to the sleeve 6. The sleeve 6 is in engagement with the inner surface of the socket 17 which, in turn, is in electrical engagement with the metal plate 18. If this plate constitutes a portion of the electrically grounded metallic structure of the vehicle, it will afford a return conductor for the completion of the circuit. The socket may, however, be grounded in any other manner. The heating element is energized by the circuitdescribed, and when it has attained a sufficiently high temperature the removable member may be withdrawn from the stationary member, and used or passed about in the usual manner of such devices.

Then the lighter is to be used for a cigar or a cigarette the plunger is permitted to remain in the position shown in Fig. 1,'with respectI to the body 5, so that the heating element remains'retracted within the rear end of the body, where it is guarded against accidental contact with the person of the user. If a pipe is to be lighted, however, the user, while holding the removable member in one hand, may press against the lens with a nger of that hand, and thus move the plunger to its eXtreme rearward position, with the result of causing the cap 10 and the heating element to be protruded from the body, as shown in Fig. 3, to an extent sufficient to permit its introduction into the bowl of the pipe.

To insure an electrical Contact between the sleeve 6 and the socket 17, and also to provide frictional means for retaining the removable member in place, the socket member is slotted at two or more points, so as to provide tongues 28, as shown in Fig. 1, which maybe formed to spring inwardly against the sleeve. These tongues are shown as having slight inward projections, at their forward or'free ends, engaging a corresponding recess or recesses in the sleeve.

The heating element is not directly visible when being heated, but the open passage through the plunger, together with the translucent materials in the disc 11 and the lens 16, permit the glow from the incandescent heating element to be visible at the front of the lighter, so that the user may know how long it is necessary to hold the circuit closed. This arrangement is not, broadly speaking, novel, since it has heretofore been proposed to provide the body of such an electric lighter with an opening through which a rearwardly located heating element is visible. A feature of the present invention, however, resides in the use of a reflecting surface within the lightconducting opening or passage, such surface being provided by polishing the interior of the hollow metal plunger. This surface will reflect light rays to the lens at such angles that they may be visible through a wid-e angle in front of the lens, whereas in lighters not provided with such reflecting surface, the comparatively faint glow of the heating element cannot be clearly perceived unless the eye is directly in line with the passage through which the light is conducted.

In a lighter of the inverted type, that is, in which the heat-ing element is mounted at the rear end of the removable member, and its iso affords a slightly sliding engagement betweenv the parts 12 and 27, which is adapted to dislodge an foreign matter which might otherwise prevent conductive contact between the metal surfaces.

It will be apparent that the several objects of the invention are attained in a very simple construction, particularly by reason of the fact that the mounting of the heating element upon a plunger, slidable within the body of the removable member, provides not only for the protrusion which is necessary in lighting a pipe, but also for the necessary movement to cause circuit-closing engagement of the contact members.

The invention claimed is 1. In an electric cigar lighter of the wireless type, a removable member comprising a heating element, a body having, at one end, a recess in which the heating element is normally housed and guarded, and means, accessible for finger pressure at the opposite end of the body, for protruding the heatin element from the body to facilitate the lig ting of a pipe.

2. lighter, as set forth in clim 1, provided with a spring for retracting the heating element into the body.

S 3. In an electric cigar lighter of the wireless type, a removable member comprising/a heating element, a body having a passage eX-` tending fromv front to rear, and means, eX- tending through said passage, supporting the heating element at the rear end of the body and accessible for inger pressure at the front of thebody, said means comprising a hollowl plunger, through which lightfrom the heating element is visible from the front, the plunger being slidable in said passage to cause protrusionof the heating element from the body;

4. A removable member,I for` a wireless cigar lighter, as set forth in claim 3, compris- Y ing, further, a button of translucent material seated normally at theforwardend of the body and closing the end of the passage therein, said button being movable, by finger pressure, to move the hollow plunger. for the purpose set forth;

` 5. In an electric cigar lighter of the wireless type, a removable membercomprising a 'spiral heatingvelementb with a central termi- A removable member for a, wireless cigar 4 press the sleeve against nal, a disc of translucent material at the mid- `ber provided with a fixed' terminal and with means for supporting and frictionally retaining aremovable member, of a removable member comprisin a heating element provided with a, terminal, a body having arecess, at its rear end, in which' the heating element is-housed, means, supporting the heating element, slidable inthe body and exposed for finger pressure at the forward end thereof, by which the heating element may be moved rearwardly, independently of the body, to cause engagement of `said terminals,

and a spring, in one of said members,J for holding the terminals normally disengaged.

7 In an electric cigar lighter ofthe wireless type, the combination of a stationary member provided with a central terminal in the form of a pin, and a removable member provided, at its rear end, with a Vhelical heating element, the inner end of the heating element being fixed to' a terminal in the form of a tube adapted to receive the srst-mentioned terminal with a sliding engagement.

8. A removable member, for a wireless electric cigar lighter, comprising a body, of insulating material, 'provided with 'a longitudinal passage, a metal Aplunger slidable in said passage, a heating element mounted on the rear end of the plunger and provided with an insulated terminal, a metal band on the outer surface of the body, and electrical 'f connecting means, between the plunger and said band, having a resilient sliding engagement with the plunger.` e

9. A remove le member for a Awireless electric cigar lighter, as se'tforth inl claim 8,l in

which said connectingI means com rise a slotted sleeve-concentric with and'em racing the plunger.4 v

10. A removablev member, .for a wireless electric cigar lighter, comprising a body, of insulating material, provided ,with a longiioo 'tudinal passage, a metal plunger slidable in.

said passage, a heating element mounted .on -V the rear end vof the plunger` andv provided with an-insulatedterminal, a metal band 'on the outer surface vof the body, conductive pins extending from said band tothe interior of said passage, a resilient split sleeve embracing the plunger and-having aninclined surface seated against the inner ends ofsaid pins, andxa spring interposed between the plunger and said sleeve and acting both to the pinlsa'nd to move the plunge-rin a direction to retract the heating element Within said passage in the body.

l1. A removable member, for a wireless cigar lighter, comprising a body having a central passage and a shoulder .at the forward end thereof, a hollow plunger slidable insaid passage, a heating element carried on the rear end of, the plunger, yaelens loosely mounted, in said passage between said shoulder and the forward end of'the plunger, and a spring coiled around the plunger and acting to move it forwardly so as to press the lens normally against the shoulder, the spring yielding to finger pressureagainst the lens, whereby the plunger is moved rearwardly ktodprotrude the heating element from the 12. A removable member, for a wireless cigar lighter, comprising a metal plunger, a heating element carried atone end thereof, a body, of heat-insulating material, with a longitudinal passage therethrough in which said plunger is slidably mounted, a metal sleeve on the outer surface of said body,pan annular metal member loosely interposed between the plunger and the body and acting as a guide for the plunger, pins engagingy the sleeve and extending into the passage in the body, said pins serving as abutments to support said "annular member, and a lspring coiled about the plunger and cooperating therewith at one end, the other end of the spring being seated against the annular member 4and acting to hold it in engagement with the pins. CHARLES B. MAHAN. 

